Sights are on the League Leaders' Shield

MATTY Dawson got a little sniff of the League Leaders’ Shield last year and now wants to taste it properly with Saints.

Selected only three times in Huddersfield Giants’ table-topping side in 2013, the 23-year-old three-quarter has amassed 15 appearances with current league leaders Saints as a reward for reuniting with his former boss Nathan Brown.

This time last season his talents were being utilised in the Championship with Doncaster on dual registration, so he was mainly on the outside of the success but said being around Paul Anderson’s Huddersfield camp during a champagne run was an experience he can draw on now.

“At Huddersfield, it was similar to what we are doing here, taking it game by game,” said Dawson, who has figured a couple of times with Saints’ partner club Rochdale Hornets in the Championship this year.

“You just keep ticking every game off as it comes and hopefully you’ll get that silverware at the end of the year.

“I enjoyed my time at Huddersfield. I only played a couple of games and spent much of the later part of the year at Doncaster but to be around the camp when the team was doing well was always good.

“It’s a bit of incentive for me now. I’d seen the boys and how happy they were. Hopefully I’ll get my hands on it this year and push towards getting in the Grand Final as well and tick another one off.”

Now, with a top-six place in the play-offs assured and despite Leeds Rhinos showing in recent years that Super League can be won from fifth, he was adamant with his answer when asked if the Saints players are eager to end the campaign at the summit.

“Everyone wants to finish top of the league,” said the ex-Castleford Tigers under 20s stand off, who is currently keeping Adam Swift out of the starting line-up.

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“You set targets at the beginning of the year and it’s an added bonus if you do finish there.

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“Getting into the eight and the play-offs is the most important thing but winning the League Leaders’ Shield sets a marker for the rest of the competition to look at and hopefully we can do that.”

Hopefully this week’s break after the loss at Hull and the extra preparation time for the Wakefield game on August 15 can put Dawson and Saints back on track.

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